Apparatus for removing hides from vats



Aug. 5,*1'969 F. L. woo'rEN APPARATUS FOR REMOVING HIDES FROM VATS Filed Sept. 13, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 mvENToR Fonnesr .wooTEN ATTORNEYS F. L. woo'rElN APPARATUS FOR REMOVING HIDES FROM VATS Filed sept. 1s, 1967 Aug. 5, 1969l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR FORREST L.WOOTEN ATTORNEYS United States Patent O 3,459,015 APPARATUS FOR REMOVING HIDES FRM VATS Forrest L. Wooten, Oak Creek, Wis., assigner to Albert Trostel & Sons Co., Milwaukee, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Sept. 13, 1967, Ser. No. 667,553 lInt. Cl. Cl-ic /00; B65g 47/00 U5. Cl. 69-32 14 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention Field of the invention- The present invention pertains to improved means for removing hides from conditioning vats in a tannery, and more particularly to a novel power-driven apparatus for that purpose.

Description of the prior art-In the treatment of hides in a tannery in order to de-hair or otherwise condition said hides it is necessary to soak a quantity of hides in a vat containing a chemical treating solution. When the hides have been soaked a required length of time they are ordinarily removed from the -vat by workmen wearing long rubber gloves who reach into the solution and manually lift said dripping hides from the Vat, depositing them in carts or the like. Not only is this a diicult job, as well as hazardous because of the danger of the chemical solution contacting the workmens skin, but it is slow, tedious, and inecient. As far as applicant is aware, no one has heretofore designed a power-driven, mechanical apparatus for performing this operation.

Sum-mary of the invention The present invention provides a mechanical hide unloader for use in tanneries which is intended to eliminate the task of manually removing hides from a treating vat. Said novel apparatus includes a power-driven revolving rake which is designed to engage and lift the Wet hides from the treating solution, and a synchronized oscillating rake is positioned to automatically scrape the hides from said revolving rake onto an adjacent conveyor or the like. In addition to minimizing labor costs, said powerdriven apparatus is capable of removing hides at a much greater speed than can be achieved by the manual removal of said hides, thereby greatly increasing the eiciency of the operation.

The novel mechanical hide-removing apparatus comprising the present invention is relatively simple in design and construction, it is economical to operate, it is reliable, and it is otherwise particularly well adapted for its intended purposes.

Brief description of the drawings In the drawings, wherein the same reference numerals designate the same or similar parts in all of the views:

FIG. l is a perspective view of a hide-treating Vat having the novel mechanical hide unloader installed thereon;

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FIG. 2 is a perspective view, principally in side elevation, showing, in perspective, a special endless .conveyor positioned adjacent said vat;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational and partially diagrammatic view showing the relative positions of the revolving and reciprocating rake member tines as the hides arebeing lifted from the vat by said revolving rake, the dotted lines indicating an advanced position;

FIG. 4 is a similar view showing the relative positions of said coacting rake tines immediately after the hides have been pushed from the revolving rake;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the coacting rake tines in one stage of the operating cycle',

FIG. 6 is a similar front elevational view showing the relationship of the tines during another stage of the operating cycle;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the coacting rake tines in the same position as in FIG. 5, showing a modification; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 8--8 of FIG. 7.

Description of the preferred embodiments Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the numeral 10 designates a vat of the type commonly used in tanneries for the de-hairing of hides, or other hide conditioning operations, said vat containing a hide-treating chemical solution. Ordinarily a powerdriven cylindrical tumbler 11 is employed to ensure the, hides are thoroughly acted upon by said solution, as is well known in the art.

In accordance with the present invention there is mounted on the forward portion of the vat 10 a rigid supporting fra-me including upright elements 13 suitably supported on opposite sides of the vat, and a top frame member 14. In front of said top frame member is a suitably journalled, horizontally-disposed rock shaft 16 which extends across the entire width of the vat, and depending from said shaft 16 is a row of spaced tines 17 formed of tubular steel or other suitable material with rounded outer ends and forming an oscillatory rake or pushing means. Said tines extend downwardly from the shaft 16 to a point substantially even with the plane of the upper edge of the vat 10, being adapted to clear the forward edge of the vat during their backward and forward oscillating travel, as will be hereinafter seen.

As is shown in FIGS. l, 5, and 6, slidably mounted relative to the lower portions of the tines 17 are plates 25 which extend behind said tines to prevent hides from passing therebetween, as will be described, each of said plates being connected to a pair of tubular slides 25' slidably receiving a pair of tines 17 in a manner permitting the free sliding movement of said plates. Said plates 25 are suspended from the rock shaft 16 by means of roller-type chains 30 which will not twist or 'become fouled and impair the sliding movement of said plates.

Mounted on the supporting frame 14 on one side of the vat is a motor 18 or other suitable prime mover, said Lmotor having a drive shaft on which there is carried inner and outer sprockets 19 and 19', and trained about said inner sprocket 19' and about a sprocket 22 carried by the frame 14 is an endless chain 21. As best appears in FIGS. 3 and 4, said sprocket 22 has a connecting bar 23 eccentrically joined thereto by a wrist pin 24, there Ibeing a link 26 pivotally connected at one end to the bar 23 and rigidly connected to the rock shaft 16. By reason of the above, operation of the motor 18 Kcauses oscillating motion of the rock shaft 16 and backward and forward arcuate movement of the tines `17 about the shaft axis.

In the operation of the present invention, as will be hereinafter described in greater detail, said tines are designed to oscillate in an arc of approximately 70-75 With reference again to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, revolubly mounted on and spanning the upper edges of the vat side walls below the rock shaft 16 is a shaft 28 having an enlarged sprocket 32 on one end thereof, there being an endless chain 31 trained about said sprocket 32 and about the motor drive sprocket 19 to provide a revoluble driving connection between the motor and said shaft 28. Mounted on and projecting radially from said revoluble shaft 28 are two rows of spaced tines 29, 29 set 180 apart and forming a rotary rake. For the sake of clarity the forwardly-projecting tines in the illustrations are designated by the numeral 29 and the rearwardlyprojecting tines by the numeral 29. As will be seen in FIGS. 1, 5, and 6, said spaced tines 29, 29 are designed to pass between the depending tines 17 carried by the rock shaft 16, the movable plate members 25 on said depending tines having arcuate cut-outs 27 in their lower edges to accommodate said intertting tines 29, 29'.

Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 3 and 4 of the drawings, in the operation of the novel mechanical hide unloader comprising the present invention the revolving rake shaft 28 is so positioned on the vat 10 that as said rake turns, the downwardly-extending tines 29 thereon pass through the conditioning solution 33 in said vat. As said tines 29 begin to revolve upwardly (FIG. 3) they engage and pick up hides 34, while the oscillating tines 17 thereabove simultaneously reach the end of their rearward stroke, with their lower ends positioned adjacent the rake shaft 28 as shown in full lines, and begin their forward travel.

As is shown in FIG. 3, when the upwardly-revolving tines 29 approach a horizontal position, illustrated in broken lines, the forwardly-moving oscillating tines 17 have traversed the same to the approximate position shown in broken lines. As hereinabove described, said forwardlymoving tines 17 are designed to interfit between said revolving tines 29, with the result that as the latter revolve upwardly said tines 17 push the hides 34 therefrom. Said oscillating tines 17 are designed to swing forwardly and upwardly in an arcuate path past the ends of said upwardly-moving tines 29 to permit said revolving tines to pass thereunder, as shown in FIG. 4, and by the time said tines 17 clear the outer ends of said revolving tines 29 the hides have been scraped completely oif said revolving tines. The wet hides slide easily from the sharply inclined oscillating tines 17 as the latter approach the forward end of their stroke, being deposited exteriorly of the vat where they can be collected in carts or n a conveyor or the like positioned adjacent said vat.

During the forward stroke of the oscillating tines 17 the movable plates 25 thereon ride on and along the tines 29 to scrapingly engage the hides thereon and to ensure that said hides do not pass between said tines to become tangled with or wound on the rotating shaft 28. In FIG. 5 said plates are shown in a lowered position as when the tines 17 and 29 are substantially perpendicular, while in FIG. 6 said slidable plates are shown pushed upwardly on the tines 17 'by the upwardly-moving tines 29, the chains 30 attached to said plates being slack, as illustrated. When the tines 29 clear the oscillating tines 17 said plates 25 slide downwardly again by gravity, the chains 30 limiting their Idownward movement to ensure said scraper plates are properly positioned for the next series of revolving tines.

Immediately after the tines 29 pass beneath the oscillating tines 17 (FIG. 4) the latter reach the end of their forward stroke, whereupon they begin to move rearwardly again. Due to the synchronization of said oscillating rock shaft 16 and revolving shaft 28, as the oscillating tines 17 reach the rearward end of their cycle and begin moving forwardly again the revolving tines 29 approach the position of the tines 29 in FIG. 3 to begin lifting hides 4 from the vat, said advancing tines 17 traversing said upwardly-revolving tines 29 to scrape the hides therefrom. This cycle is repeated on each successive revolution of the rake tines 29, 29', thus providing a continuous hideremoving operation.

As hereinabove described, a synchronization of the revolving rake tines 29, 29 and coacting oscillating tines 17 is necessary. The relative angular relationships of said tines during the various operational phases can vary within certain limits, of course, but it has been found that the relationships illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 provide desired coaction and synchronization. Asis shown in FIG. 3, when the oscillating tines 17 reach the rearwardmost point in their travel said tines are at an angle, as represented by the included angle a, of about 30 from the vertical. At the same time said tines 17 reach the end of their rearward stroke the upwardly-revolving tines 29 assume an angle of about 35-40 from the horizontal, as represented by the included angle b in FIG. 3. When said revolving tines 29 reach a horizontal position the depending tines 17 form an angle c of approximately Stitherewith, as shown in broken lines. As will be seen in FIG. 4, at the point where said upwardly-revolving tines 29 clear the forwardly-oscillating tines 17 said revolving tines are at an angle d of about 50-55 from the horizontal, while said oscillating tines assume an angle e of approximately 40- 45 from the vertical.

With reference now to FIG. 2 of the drawings, in the embodiment of the present invention illustrated therein there is positioned adjacent the forward end of the hidetreating vat 10 a portable endless conveyor 40 having a substantially horizontal intermediate portion 41 and upwardly-inclined lateral portions 42, 43. The conveyor belt is formed of spaced slats 44, and said conveyor is driven by a motor 45 which is reversible to permit said belt to be run in either direction.

In the use of the conveyor 40 with the hide-removing apparatus hereinabove described, the dripping hides removed from the vat 10 are automatically deposited on the central, horizontal portion of said moving conveyor and as said hides move upwardly on the conveyor inclined portion 42 or 43, solution draining from the hides passes through the spaced slats 44 forming the conveyor belt and runs down toward the center of the conveyor, where it can be conveniently collected. When the hides reach the upper end of the inclined conveyor portion 42 or 43 they -fall into a cart (not shown) or other receptacle stationed therebelow. When one cart is filled the conveyor motor 45 can be reversed to direct the hides toward the opposite end of the conveyor where they are deposited in another cart, thus permitting the continuous, uninterrupted collection and removal of said treated hides.

FIGS. 7 and 8 disclose a modification for the pusher plates, in which the same numerals used in FIGS. 5 and 6 are employed for corresponding parts but are preceded by the digit 1. In the modification, the metal plates are shorter in length, and there is one complete cylindrical guide 125' midway of the length of each plate with a half guide 125" at each end of each plate. Each of the shortened plates 125 has two plastic extensions 150 bolted thereto as at 151, which extensions project below the lower edge of the metal plate 125 and have recessed lower ends as at 127 which fit around the tops of the tines of the rotatable rake. The extensions 150 are preferably formed of polyvinylchloride of about one-half inch thickness. These extensions may swing slightly on the bolts to align themselves with the tines 129, and they may also ex slightly as required. Each plate preferably has a single stop chain 130 projecting upwardly from its upper edge midway of its length.

From the foregoing detailed description it will be seen that the present invention provides an apparatus for use in tanneries or the like which eliminates the tedious and hazardous task of manually removing hides from treating vats. In addition to reducing labor costs, said power-driven apparatus is capable of removing hides at a much greater rate of speed than can be achieved manually, and said apparatus is completely safe and reliable in operation. Further, the novel hide unloader is relatively simple and inexpensive in design and construction, and it is economical to operate.

It is to be understood that while a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been illustrated and hereinabove described, numerous variations or modifications thereof will undoubtedly occur to those skilled in the art. What is intended to be covered herein is not only the illustrated form of the invention, but also any and all variations or modifications thereof as may come within the spirit of said invention, and within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for removing flexible material such as hides from a treating vat having treating fluid therein, cornprising a rack having at least one set of laterally-spaced projecting tines movably supported to travel into and out of the treating uid to pick up hides therein, means movably supported adjacent said rack in a position for movement along said tines to a location clear of the tines for pushing treated material from its tines, said movable pushing means being also so supported that in its location clear of the tines it is disposed to temporarily support said ilexible material each time the tines of said rack emerge from the uid and is disposed to direct said material externally of the vat, and means for driving said rack and pushing means in timed relationship with one another so that there is a pushing motion of said pushing means to said location clear of the tines each time the tines of the rack emerge from the uid.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the rack is rotatable and in which the tines are radially projecting.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which the rotary rack has oppositely-disposed sets of tines.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 2 in which the movable pushing means is supported for oscillatory movement.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the movable pushing means is supported for back and forth movement.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 in which the movable pushing means has a set of tines which intert between the tines of the rack.

7. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6 in which there is plate means movably supported on the tines of the pushing means positioned to prevent movement of treated malterial inwardly between tines beyond said plate means.

8. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 in which said plate means has lower edge recesses which are shaped and positioned to receive the tines ofthe rack.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 in which said plate means is freely slidably mounted on the tines of the pushing means.

10. Apparatus as claimed in claim 9 in which there is means for limiting downward movement of said plate means by gravity.

11. Apparatus as claimed in claim 10 in which said limiting means comprises flexible elongated members attached at one end to the pushing means and at their other ends to said plate means.

12. Apparatus as claimed in claim 7 in which the plate means has extensions which project therebelow, each extension having a lower edge recess which is shaped and positioned to receive a tine of the rake.

13. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12 in which the extensions are pivoted to the plates for slight lateral swinging.

14. Apparatus as claimed in claim 12 in which the extensions are formed of plastic.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 197,426 11/ 1877 Steinmann et al. 69-29 1,432,578 10/1922 Thomas et al. 134-134 2,027,558 1/1936 Sherwood 134-134 FOREIGN PATENTS 226,235 4/ 1925 Great Britain.

ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 134-134 

